CBS' Jason La Canfora reports Ben Roethlisberger (ribs, shoulder) is "expected back" for Week 13.According to La Canfora, it's not "out of the question" that Roethlisberger could dress as an emergency quarterback for Week 12. Charlie Batch will start against the Browns, but it's clear Roethlisberger is making steady progress. He shed his sling on Wednesday. Considering the magnitude of next week's game against Baltimore, we expect Big Ben to be back.

I think it's bad news that we're playing the browns; this is their annual super bowl. They have very little else to look forward to most seasons other than trying the beat the Steelers at home. The Browns have played many teams tough this season and have played well defensively considering their weak offense.This sure isn't a game to take for granted.

CBS' Jason La Canfora reports Ben Roethlisberger (ribs, shoulder) is "expected back" for Week 13.According to La Canfora, it's not "out of the question" that Roethlisberger could dress as an emergency quarterback for Week 12. Charlie Batch will start against the Browns, but it's clear Roethlisberger is making steady progress. He shed his sling on Wednesday. Considering the magnitude of next week's game against Baltimore, we expect Big Ben to be back.

Injurites are part of the game and every team has them so I hate to make it as an excuse, but with Ben and Brown and at least two of our rbs healthy (once Mundy was benched) we were inching towards a top 3 team in the conference. The Ravens game actually proved that to me.

I bring that up because I would rather have Ben sit and get healthy then risk injury. If we sneak in the playoffs I actually like our chances. We dominated the Pats until Woodley got hurt last year and I'll take a shot at the Texans and the Ravens.

By that time we might have Gilbert back at RT. my only point is we have very few straight weaknesses when healthy.

Back to this game: I'm scared crapless. Batch can't throw deep so this game is entirely on the oline to keep them running the ball effectively. If not they have zero chance.

I thought Cam Heyward did a good job last week replacing Hood. He was one of the keys in shutting down Ray Rice and he also provided some pressure on Flacco. It'll be interesting if they play him this week and if they don't how Hood holds up. Hood's been adequate overall. He's done well pursuing plays to the opposite side but has gotten shoved around in plays run right at him.